Sunday, November 14, 2010

should be in bed, but...

So facebook sometimes takes away minutes, no who am I kidding, hours of my day. I am a master of multitasking facebook & either food network or travel channel.

But here's one of the cool things about facebook. I've had the opportunity to reconnect with people from different times in my past. I had the opportunity to get to know an exchange student, Thomas, while at seminary. While he connected with so many of us that year and we said, oh, keep in touch...he had a realistic outlook that it probably wouldn't happen as maybe we would like it to happen. When people are in similar situations, they feel close and bond, yet when those contexts change, when we are not in created community together, then our relationships will change.

Thomas was so right. Looking at different friends I have on facebook, that is so true. It's great to reconnect with people from different times and experiences in my life, but our relationships have changed. There are some relationships that maybe I wish would've turned out differently. I mean, who doesn't look back and think...what if? What would my life be like if...? But that's not how life works, is it? You could spend your entire life, trying to reach back, to change things, or to just live in the hope that things had gone differently.

But instead, I've decided to take a different approach. I'm truly thankful for the times in my life when I had close relationships with many of these people. Some I am really close to now, and others not so much, but that's okay. In Eat, Pray, Love one character says to Liz, that person was in your life at that time for a reason...but that time is over. (Okay, that was a paraphrase, because the book is downstairs, and I don't have the oomph to A) find the book and 2) locate the actual quote.)

So yes, I am thankful for the times in my life when I have been super close to people, and thankful for the opportunity to reconnect with each of them. It makes me chuckle when people from different times in my life comment on the same post...(I'm goofy like that) But yeah, each person, who I have gotten to know for a short or long period of time, has been brought into my life and gifted me with laughter, tears, and lots of memories.

So thanks, God, for my dear friends. I hope that you keep opening the door to new relationships that let your light shine through others, to lighten my way.